Car wash question

[SilverRex]

Has anyone use the car wash stations at Petrocanada? I believe they are one of the remaining car wash stations that still uses soft cloth.

my question is, I have a black vehicle, is any type of car wash other than touchless a big no no?

or has anyone gone thru Petrocan car washes that can comment on this.

[eglove]

I'd never go through a gas station car wash. Wand wash or touchless at top gear carwash

[Kijho]

Originally posted by eglove
I'd never go through a gas station car wash. Wand wash or touchless at top gear carwash

This X 1000.

TopGear is super awesome. I'm there pretty much every week now since it opened and it's fantastic. If you plan to go often load up the card and you get a bit extra $$ depending how much you pre-load. Usually cost me $7/Wash (or a bit more if I use my a MF wash mitt) then I towel dry outside unless it's really cold then they have never told me not to dry inside if it's not busy.

[SilverRex]

Originally posted by eglove
I'd never go through a gas station car wash. Wand wash or touchless at top gear carwash

I read that for touchless car wash the chemical used are extremely harsh on the paint. is this just a myth?

[mzdspd]

Originally posted by SilverRex


I read that for touchless car wash the chemical used are extremely harsh on the paint. is this just a myth?

It can be harsh on a wax or sealant.. But it is not harsh on the paint.

[K3RMiTdot]

Originally posted by Kijho


This X 1000.

TopGear is super awesome. I'm there pretty much every week now since it opened and it's fantastic. If you plan to go often load up the card and you get a bit extra $$ depending how much you pre-load. Usually cost me $7/Wash (or a bit more if I use my a MF wash mitt) then I towel dry outside unless it's really cold then they have never told me not to dry inside if it's not busy.

+1 I always dry inside.

[Mitsu3000gt]

The "touch" washes just grind your paint with all the little dirt/rock particles stuck in the bristles from the previous thousands of cars that come through. If you go though even once your clear coat is pretty much destroyed until you get a power polish. Same problem with the brushes/brooms at the coin washes, but at least with those you can blast the brush bristles with the pressure washer first to mitigate the pending damage.

[shakalaka]

I stick to touchless washes such as Esso or wand wash.

[HiSpec]

+1 for Top Gear. I usually can dry and QD when it is not busy later at night.

Although on Sunday afternoon there were few inconsiderate people that dried their vehicle when there were fair bit of people lining up outside and waiting inside the facility. One guy with a black S3 was even waxing his car!

[heinz256]

For those of you who go to Top Gear what order do you do your washing in? This is what mine looks like

1. Tire and rim cleaner
2. Presoak
3. High pressure soap
4. High pressure rinse
5. Triple foam gun
6. Wax
7. Spot free rinse

I probably spend about 20 minutes doing all this which = $$$

Anyone know if I should skip some of these or got any tips on being more efficient?

Maybe I'm just slow lol

[HiSpec]

Originally posted by heinz256
For those of you who go to Top Gear what order do you do your washing in? This is what mine looks like

1. Tire and rim cleaner
2. Presoak
3. High pressure soap
4. High pressure rinse
5. Triple foam gun
6. Wax
7. Spot free rinse

I probably spend about 20 minutes doing all this which = $$$

Anyone know if I should skip some of these or got any tips on being more efficient?

Maybe I'm just slow lol

Best way to save time and money is to either have a vehicle that's coated or well sealed and waxed. This way you can just soap, rinse, spot free rinse and dry using drying aid with a waffle weave towel.



You don't have to use Hydrate. Other brands of QD will work just as well (eg diluted Optimum ORWW). Some works better than the other (less streaking). Do some research.

I don't even bother with tire/wheel cleaner since I have steelies for winter.

[K3RMiTdot]

Originally posted by heinz256
For those of you who go to Top Gear what order do you do your washing in? This is what mine looks like

1. Tire and rim cleaner
2. Presoak
3. High pressure soap
4. High pressure rinse
5. Triple foam gun
6. Wax
7. Spot free rinse

I probably spend about 20 minutes doing all this which = $$$

Anyone know if I should skip some of these or got any tips on being more efficient?

Maybe I'm just slow lol

I do it in this order.

High Pressure Soap
Pre-Soak
Triple Foam - Sometimes
Rinse

I'm slow though haha

Dry